Notes from the Field: Peru Quake

On Wednesday night, August 15, 2007, the Peruvian town of Chincha was struck by 8.0-magnitude earthquake as local residents slept. When the country awoke on Thursday morning, they discovered mass devastation. The most serious damage was suffered in towns and cities along the country's Pacific coast south of Lima, including Chincha, Ica, Canete and Pisco, where more than 500 deaths and thousands of injuries have been reported.

“This is the moment when the media plays an important role in providing hope, and can communicate that Peru is greater than its problems, especially during this time of despair” - Hugo Alfaro - Ica, Peru

PCI-Media Impact ’s PAX training program brought together 24 radio journalists and broadcasters for a seminar in April 2007 as the lead up to a 5 week internship program in the United States. In the aftermath of the earthquake, our program staff reached out to the participants to see if they were safe.

Thankfully, we can report that everyone working on PCI-Media Impact programs in Peru, including the staff of Calandria, Manos Libres and the 24 PAX participants have reported back that they are safe. Many have still not heard from family in earthquake struck region of Ica and Pisco and all report concerns as tremors continue to rock Lima and the surrounding area.

We will share your best wishes and prayers with our network if you e-mail them to info@pci-mediaimpact.org

Stories from the Field

Many in our network in Peru have shared their radio reports, photos and personal stories. We share those with you here:

August 30, 2007 - Leonardo Ccori Vargas from radio Radio Yaravi sent pictures of the relief shipments his radio station organized. Three shipments of 3 tons each have been delivered to the people of Ica. He reports that journalists from his station accompanied the shipments and confirmed that they were delivered and well received. The first delivery was supervised by Juan Cervantes and Hugo Condori, the director of the radio, then the journalist Luis Antonio Zarate, and the third by Mr. Ccori himself.

Click here to see more

August 24, 2007 - PCI-Media Impact Executive Director Michael Castlen was interviewed by the radio program Up Front Radio: Dispatches from the New Majority on KALW, 91.7 FM in San Francisco, California. The interview discussed the scope of our PAX journalism training program and our continuing Peru earthquake coverage on this website. The program can be downloaded by clicking here.

Up Front Radio is an award winning, hour long, news and culture audio magazine for and from California's ethnic communities.   Drop in segments are available in five and nine minute modules for broadcast on public radio across the country. Up Front Radio: Dispatches from the New Majority airs Fridays at 12:00 p.m. and repeats Sundays at 2:30 p.m. on KALW, 91.7 FM.

August 22, 2007 - Julio Quispe (right), a radio journalist from Radio Lider, in Cusco, Peru writes in to offer solidarity with his colleagues from the PAX training program. Here he provides an update of what is happening one week after the earthquake. He says, the country is mobilized, burials have begun and bringing a return to law and order is now the chief concern. He reports:

"Thankfully in Cusco nothing major occurred during the earthquake that devastated Ica. Only minor material damage was reported in the area. The humanitarian help started immediately, authorities organized themselves to send blankets and food for our brothers and sistes in Ica. So far, the Public Ministry through Adelaida Bolivar, Attorney General, has informed of 486 deaths, 335 from Pisco, 75 from Chincha, 64 from Lea, 5 in Cañete and 6 in Callao. The identification of bodies was possible thanks to the information given by the Criminality Observatory. Ms Bolivar said that the number was certified by more than 60 attorneys and legal doctors that traveled to the region and wrote the death certificates.

Ms. Bolivar also announced that during the following hours, the Public Ministry will install an Operation Center in Pisco so that people affected or without a home could be assisted. She stand-out the work done by 3 attorneys in Chincha who lost their properties and homes.

Burials have started
With tears and cries the citizens of Pisco and Ica started the burial ceremonies for their families and friends that died during the earthquake last Wednesday. The coffins started to arrive to the general cemetery in Pisco, accompanied by dozens of mourning families who lost their loved ones; a lost that the whole country mourns and observes.

President Alan Garcia informed that they are analyzing measures to stop the robberies and looting in Pisco and other cities affected by the earthquake. In declarations with the press, the President indicated that one of these measures will be to approve transit restrictions including controlled night circulation.  He said he will “saturate” Ica, Cañete, Chincha and Lea with police officers to warranty security. “This is not a threat to the people”, he added, after indicating that he will deploy 200 Marines into the Army Plaza in Pisco and Central Park in San Clemente."

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August 21, 2007 - Journalist Wilmer Hidalgo Huaman (right) from Radio Amazonica in Junin, Peru participated in the PAX Lima trainings and is coming to the United States in September. He has been in regular contact with his other colleagues from the program and provided some dramatic photographics of the earthquake damage. The photos, taken by his colleagues, Jaime Aparcana and Irwin Aparcana Godoy, include shots of Iglesia Del Luren de Ica, the church were 50 people were killed Wednesday evening when the city of Ica was hit by the 8.0 earthquake.

(for more photos, click here.)

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August 20, 2007 - Community to community efforts to provide material assistance to people in the earthquake striken areas of Peru has begun. PAX training participant Leonardo Ccori, from Radio Yaravi, reports that his radio station has organized a local team and has collected nearly 3 tons of supplies to be delivered and distributed to communities hardest hit by the earthquake. Mr. Ccori will be in the United States in September 2007 as part of the second phase of the PAX training program.

Mr. Ccori (right)reports, "It is really comforting to know that we have formed a great team, more than a team, a group of friends that are concerned about the each other. In the aftermath of the tragedy, in Radio Yaravi we are organizing a campaign to recollect food and clothes that could be useful, and today (08/20/07) we already sent 3 tons from the donations made in Arequipa. Two of our journalists went with the shipment to make sure that it arrives to the people in need."

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August 20, 2007 - From Radio Tropical and Via Television in Tarapoto, Peru, Enith Fasanando Tellohas, has e-mailed with admiration for the work of her colleague Hugo Alfaro (see story below.) She urges her fellow journalists, colleagues and the public to support current relief efforts underway in Peru.

Ms. Tellohas (left) writes: "I imagine the international media's coverage of the situation in Peru is thorough. Yesterday we experienced another minor earthquake (5.3 Ricther) at 10:00 PM, so far, Peru has experienced more than 70 aftershocks (since last Wednesday's 8.0 earthquake), and some as strong as the one from last night.  Help from the federal government is arriving little by little, but it is not covering the great need in Ica. Some other countries have expressed their solidarity to Peru and its people.

I want to share with you the great journalistic and human value of our colleague Hugo Alfaro, whom even though lacking the most vital needs (lack of water, food, medicine and the collapse of half of his home), he continued on his duty to tell the stories and testimonies of the victims. Our PAX colleagues, Rocio Farfan, Oscar Fajardo, and Wilmer Fortunato have been in communication with him to get the most recent and local news from Ica.

Personally, I’ve been in contact with Hugo, since he became an exclusive correspondent for Radio Tropical and Via Television from Tarapoto, even before the earthquake.  Knowing that help is not only words but the need to cover basic needs, we organized a great fundraising to help our friends in Ica. The situation in Peru is chaotic and devastating. Peru is mourning. Let’s show solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the south."

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August 17, 2007 - Radio journalist and PAX participant, Rocio Farfan (right), reported that she is safe and that she had talked fellow PAX participant Hugo Alfaro who lives the earthquake ravaged town of Ica. The Lima training was the first time they had met. Here is here e-mail report:

“It is true what is said in the news outside the country about the earthquake and more than 300 deaths. Nevertheless I have to say that the earthquake was felt in the south of the country, in the north it was felt but there were no damages reported; in Piura specifically nothing was felt. Ica and Pisco are the 2 more damaged cities; in Pisco more than 70% of homes were destroyed and in Ica the number of deaths is elevated. Thanks to God our friend Hugo (pictured right) and his family are safe, last night we talked to him to confirm. He is affected by the unexpected experience, but ok.”

Ms. Farfan, who is a producer and radio journalist Mario Rufino (pictured left), who was also a participant in the PAX training, broadcast an interview with Mr. Alfaro by telephone in Ica. Two seperate reports were filed, one in the morning and one in the afternoon of the day after the earthquake. These Spanish language interviews were broadcast on Radio Cutivalu in Piura, Peru.

Mario Rufino's morning interview with Hugo Alfaro.

Mario Rufino's afternoon interview with Hugo Alfaro

Here are some excerpts of the interview in English:
“So far there are 327 deaths and 1300 wounded registered”
“More wounded people are arriving to the hospitals of Ica”
“The roads between Lima and Ica are destroyed, there is no way to travel by land from Ica to Lima, and a bridge in San Clemente, in the province of Pisco collapsed”
“80% of the province of Pisco is destroyed, here in Ica we can talk about a 40% of destruction, in most of the main streets and in the Army Plaza some of the colonial houses collapsed”
 “The department of Ica is incommunicado by land, and also there is a problem with phone lines, both cellular and land lines, since a lot of cables fell down; there is also no electricity or water”
“The atmosphere is grieving, many people are trying to get primary need food, they are standing in line to buy bread, some markets are closed since there is a chance for them to collapse due to cracks in the structures.”

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August 17, 2007 - María Milagros Toala from Tacna, who was also a PAX participant sent the following message and pictures.

"I send my regards from the southern part of Peru, also very concerned about what happened yesterday in Ica, a city where I lived for one year. Thanks to God in Tacna the earthquake wasn’t felt and everything is good. Different organizations have started collection campaigns to help our brothers and sisters in need. In 2001 (June 23) we experienced an earthquake too and we know what is like to be in this type of situation, this is the idea that keeps us moving to get the population to collaborate, as well as the sensibility felt people from Ica that live in our city.

In a personal note, I had communication with friends and loved ones that live in that area, they have commented how things are as well as share their stories through the radio."

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